Minnesota Traffic Tickets

By Javier Marín, Editor·Last reviewed September 2026·How we check this

A Minnesota traffic ticket can usually be handled three ways: pay the payable amount on the citation as a guilty plea, plead not guilty and request an arraignment in district court, or in some cases, negotiate a continuance for dismissal that keeps the conviction off the driving record. The choice has direct consequences for your driving record, insurance rates, and license status.

Reading the citation

A Minnesota uniform citation lists the alleged violation, the statute cited (a numerical reference like "169.14" for speeding), the proposed payable fine, the surcharges, the court of appearance, and the date the response is due. Two response paths apply:

Pay the payable amount within the deadline shown on the citation (typically 30 days). This enters a guilty plea by mail.
Appear at the listed court on the appearance date for arraignment if you don't pay the payable amount.

Miss both deadlines and the court issues a failure to appear (FTA) entry, which adds an additional penalty, suspends the license, and may trigger a warrant for the most serious offenses.

Option 1: pay the payable

For most non-criminal traffic violations (petty misdemeanors), the citation lists a payable amount — a flat fine plus surcharges that resolves the case immediately. Paying within the deadline:

Closes the citation.
Adds the violation as a conviction to your Minnesota driving record.
Counts toward Driver Improvement triggers (3 violations in 12 months).
Becomes visible to insurers at the next renewal.

Payment can be made online through the Minnesota Court Payment Center, by mail with a check, or in person at the district court. The payable amount is the simplest option — and the right choice when the insurance impact is tolerable.

Option 2: contest in court

If you don't pay the payable, the case is set for arraignment in district court. At arraignment you can:

Plead guilty with a possible request to reduce the fine or impose a stay of imposition.
Plead not guilty and set a court trial date. Trials are bench trials before a judge unless the violation is a criminal misdemeanor or higher.
Request a continuance to gather evidence or hire a traffic attorney.

At trial, the prosecution presents the officer's testimony, any radar/lidar calibration records, and dash-cam or body-cam footage. The defendant can cross-examine, present witnesses, and argue legal defenses.

Option 3: continuance for dismissal

Minnesota prosecutors regularly offer a continuance for dismissal (CFD) — sometimes called a stay of imposition — on first-offense traffic violations. Under a CFD:

The driver enters a guilty plea but the court withholds judgment.
The continuance runs for a set period (typically 6 months to 1 year).
If the driver stays violation-free during the period, the case is dismissed and no conviction is entered on the driving record.
If the driver picks up another violation during the period, the original conviction enters with all consequences.

CFDs are usually granted for first-offense speeding 1-19 mph over, lane violations, and other minor moving offenses. They are rarely available for high-speed (20+ over), reckless driving, or alcohol-related charges.

Stay of imposition

For more serious misdemeanor offenses, Minnesota courts can grant a stay of imposition, which is similar to a deferred sentence but on the gross misdemeanor level. The driver pleads guilty, the court "stays imposition" of the formal conviction, and after a probationary period (typically 1 year), the offense is reported as a "stay of imposition" rather than a conviction. This matters for some employment and immigration uses but does not remove the entry from the driving record.

Plea bargains and amendments

For more serious tickets, an attorney can sometimes negotiate an amendment to a non-moving violation:

Equipment violation (no record entry) instead of speeding 10-19 over.
Improper lane usage instead of careless driving.
Failure to obey traffic device instead of running a red light.

These amendments avoid Driver Improvement triggers and reduce insurance impact. Cost-benefit usually favors hiring counsel for any citation that could push a driver toward the 3-violations-in-12-months threshold.

Camera tickets

Minnesota law has been historically restrictive on automated traffic enforcement. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in State v. Kuhlman (2007) that local red-light camera ordinances violated state law because they imposed a presumption that the registered owner was the driver. Some narrow exceptions allow speed cameras in school and construction zones, but most camera tickets in Minnesota are civil penalties with no points, no driving record entry, and no license consequence — paying the citation does not affect your driving record.

Court costs and surcharges

Beyond the base fine, Minnesota adds:

State Surcharge ($75 minimum on most criminal traffic offenses).
Law Library fee.
Public Defender Co-Pay fee (when applicable).
Crime Victim Reparations surcharge.
Local court costs ($10-$45).

These typically add 50-75% on top of the base fine.

Failure to pay

Unpaid Minnesota tickets eventually trigger a license suspension under § 171.16. The suspension is lifted only after the underlying ticket is paid plus a $20 reinstatement fee through the DVS reinstatement process. Repeat unpaid citations can lead to ticket consolidation in revenue recapture, where state tax refunds are applied to outstanding court fees.